Every government on earth has its own approach to religion. Some see it as a partner, others see it as a threat. Some choose official faiths, others scorn that idea. We'll go to 14 nations around the world, meeting people whose lives have been shaped by the ways their countries balance religion and state.

We end our journey to France with a truly special treat - our own private concert with the French-American guitar virtuoso, Stephane Wrembel. Wrembel is a spiritual seeker, preferring to explore many paths over one particular faith. If he does approach religion in some way, it’s through making music - he thinks of the creative process as a mystical journey. He tells us, "This is what I hope for my audience: to bring people with me in an awakened dream, in a state of dreaming."

We weren't able to include his full live performance in our radio broadcast, so please enjoy his complete songs below.

Efrain Rios Montt ruled Guatemala from 1982 to 1983 as its first Evangelical Christian President. During his short time in office, thousands of indigenous Mayans were killed as part of that country's civil war against guerillas and their supporters. Today, Guatemala is still trying to make sense of it all. This week we ask, what role did religion play in the conflict? And what role is religion playing today as the country tries to move forward?

Religious violence around the world reached a six-year high in 2012, from attacks on monks in Sri Lanka to bombings of Coptic churches in Egypt. That's according to a new Pew Research study, which found "high religious hostilities" in one third of the countries polled. But are those conflicts really caused by religious differences? Probably not. This week, we're zooming into one spiritual rivalry that's more complex than it seems: the clash between Sunni and Shia Muslims.

Gregory Gause, professor of international relations and Middle Eastern politics at the University of VermontLesley Hazelton, author of The First Muslim: The Story of Muhammad

Egypt: Whose Brand of Islam Will Prevail?

There may be no country in the world right now with a more volatile relationship between religion and government than Egypt. Most Egyptians are Sunni Muslim. And most say the government should play a role in religious life - just how much is an open question. The now-deposed Islamist President, Mohamed Morsi, offered one answer, but critics say he went too far in blurring the lines between religion and state.

Now the new military-backed government is promoting its own brand of religious thought, mainly through a Sunni Muslim institution called Al-Azhar University (pictured.)

Photos from Cairo by Kimberly Adams, from her story on Al-Azhar. Click on the double arrows on the bottom right to view full captions.

India: A New Face of Hindu Nationalism

This week we journey to India, where a man named Narendra Modi is a leading candidate for the next prime minister. He’s been a boon for the failing economy in his home state of Gujarat. But many minorties are worried about his Hindu nationalism, and say he turned a blind eye to Gujarat's anti-Muslim riots in 2002. Miranda Kennedy traveled to Gujarat’s biggest city - and a Muslim neighborhood called Juhapura - to learn more.